Foundation of Wu
by PrivateAlienate
Summary: Another short 'story', beginning with a short introduction (admittedly quite boring but there to set the scene) and will be building some chapters in the near future so keep an eye out. Any feedback is greatly received so please do review, thanks.
1. Introduction

In the year 184AD, China entered into a time of chaos when the Han dynasty was threatened with revolt. Sun Ce, the eldest son of the warlord Sun Jian, was nine at the time. Sun Jian owned land in the south west under the 'East Wu' banner. When Sun Ce turned sixteen, Sun Jian was killed in an ambush on his way back home from another revolt. Sun Ce then took refuge under Yuan Shu. The next three years were crucial as Yuan Shu made several promises to promote this enthusiastic youth but broke those promises when the relevant times came. Then a war between Yuan Shu and Liu Yao gave Sun Ce his opportunity.

When Sun Ben and Wu Jing couldn't break Liu Yao's defence, Sun Ce requested some troops from Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu accepted, giving him only a handful of troops with the ploy of trying to get Ce killed. However, Ce had already organised more troop gatherings along the way so when he reached Yangtze River, he was able to match his opponents.

After a long and drawn out battle, Ce finally secured the land of Wu. Along with Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, his strategists, Ce managed to attract many generals during his first battle including the famous Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai and Chen Wu.


	2. Chapter 1

During the battle for Niuzhu . . .

It was a hot summers day, the sun was high in the sky. The sandy plains were covered in soldiers of both yellow and grey uniform. Sun Ce, the leader of a newly found army, the grey army, was encircled and surrounded by soldiers in yellow outfits.

A soldier came at him with his spear, foolishly aiming for Ce's stomach. One of Ce's Tonfa's soon pushed it away whilst the second reached the jaw of the soldier. Unknown to Ce, an enemy was rapidly approaching from behind. It was only when a groan sounded as a broadsword slashed at the enemies back, did Ce turn to see the soldier falling on his front.

"Sun Ce, you're too far out. When will you ever learn?" Zhou Yu pronounced. The two men now facing back to back to better protect one another.

"Sorry." Ce replied with a hint of youthful sarcasm.

"Well, it's not like anyone _could_ push you back." Yu continued.

"Well, come on, let's go!" Ce rallied forward. Even in tight spots, Ce could always find something enthusiastic to say. The two men charged in opposite directions but never strayed far from each other. Time seemed to slow down whilst fighting, it was as if they were in their prime when in the midst of battle.

"What do you say you and I create our own empire, Zhou Yu, _our_ empire!" Ce announced. Zhou Yu didn't reply. He wasn't sure how to reply. Our empire? As in a empire with both of them at the head? Or Ce's empire with Yu being just another adviser?

That night . . .

Some of the servants led Ce's men to the palace of Niuzhu. This was now their land, it was only small but enough to build upon.

Ce decided to throw a party in the grand hall of his new palace and invited all his new generals and advisers to drink the night away. He and Yu sat together.

"So what do you think about setting up this empire of ours?" Ce asked.

"When you say empire of _ours_, what do you mean?" Yu replied.

"An empire based on our beliefs. I want to achieve what my late Father didn't have the chance to do. I want to build an empire where everyone has the chance at success, everyone is free to do as they wish, so long as it's righteous and beneficial to all it involves. We of course will need to make sure no-one takes advantage of this freedom and of the people. We won't have to take orders from other people."

"It's the 'we' that I'm more concerned with, by we, do you mean you? Will I be merely another adviser at your disposal? Because if that's the case, why should I serve you above all else?"

"You could never be a mere adviser, you will always be my brother. Whilst I would take the advice of several men, I would follow you to the depths of hell. I admit, I will be at the head of this empire, if it be successful, but you will be the bow from which I shoot my arrows, the shield that accompanies my sword, the saddle in which I sit. If you do not wish to further this idea, I shall leave it by the roadside as I cannot do it without you. I will give you time to decide."

"There's no need, I shall join you in your cause. I'm sorry if I offended you with doubt of your intentions. With that, I think I shall call it a night." Yu announced. Ce smiled and Yu left. Zhou Tai, one of Ce's newly recruited generals walked over to Ce.

"May I?" Zhou Tai asked.

"Certainly, it's Zhou Tai isn't it?" Sun Ce asked, Tai sat down and nodded. "What do you fight for?"

"Peace, without peace there will never be a better tomorrow. A better tomorrow so that our children don't have to go through what we have to. A world in which our children can do things that we couldn't possibly imagine." Tai stated. Ce was impressed with this response.

"That's what I like to hear but may I ask as to why you would join me, of all the leaders that you could have joined?"

"You are not just an ordinary leader, you have a vision, a vision that is aligned with my own. It is my honour to serve such a leader and for that you have my loyalty." Ce nodded at this reply. He left it a while before continuing the conversation, he just had to get to know this quiet character that little bit more.

"Do you have a family?"

"I have no-one. Old age, illness or this fighting has taken them. Do you have anyone?"

"I have a younger brother, Sun Quan and a younger sister, Sun Shang Xiang and bond brother, Zhou Yu who just left before you sat down ... do you have any interests at home?"

"I like music but cannot play it, I like art but cannot produce it, I like words but cannot read nor write them. War is all I have known and all I will know. What do you enjoy?"

"The same except I can read and write. I also enjoy observing people." Ce's response was the last response. Most of the people had left the party and it was now quite late. Ce finished his drink and left. On his way back to his room, he passed Yu's room. There was still light coming from inside the doorway. Ce entered. Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao were talking whilst overlooking a document on top a modest wooden table. They didn't notice Ce's presence. Ce pondered, so modestly whilst revelling in two great minds working so hard together. He knew that his dream of an empire was more than just a dream, it would one day be a reality.

Then in the corner of Ce's eye, he saw a new presence, the presence of someone in the shadow of the room, the presence of someone with a blade.


	3. Chapter 2

_**This part is slightly shorter but the next chapter will be slightly longer and it would ruin it to spread the story evenly. Please leave a review.**_

_Sun Ce had now taken control of Wu and Kuaiji. _

In a small throne room in Shanyang, the main foothold of Kuaiji, stood Sun Ce, overlooking the knelt Yan Yu, younger brother of the leader of local rebels Yan Baihu. Zhou Yu stood looking out of the window with his arms crossed, sun shining brightly upon his face. Zhou Tai stood the other side of the throne facing the door, always keeping a straight face, always preparing for a sudden ambush or attack, always keeping a hand near the hilt of his sword.

Yan Baihu was renowned for causing mischief so it was unexpected that he had sent his younger brother as an emissary to ask Ce to become his joint partner. Yan Yu also had a reputation of being one of Baihu's strongest men. If an ambush were to occur, Yan Yu was certainly in a good position to be at the head of that ambush.

"What is your answer Ce?" the knelt Yan Yu asked. Ce turned around so his back was facing Yan Yu. This gave him time to think and Yan Yu to attack if that were his motive. A few minutes passed. Zhou Yu turned to face Yan Yu, a little disgust in his eyes. Ce pulled a dagger from his sleeve, swiftly turned and slashed at Yan Yu's throat. It was over. Yan Yu fell backwards, blood gushing from his throat, life completely faded from his eyes. Zhou Yu's mouth was open with complete shock.

"What have you done Ce? You can't just kill random emissaries!"

"This is no emissary, this is a bandit. A very strong bandit at that. When word reaches Yan Baihu of this, it will strike fear into his men's hearts. The best diplomacy comes from action."

Zhou Yu was fuming, he clenched his fists and stormed out of the hall room. Ce turned to Tai, "What did I do wrong?"

"Whilst your strategy was true, this will place fear in your enemies, it was the principle in which you did it that is questioned. You set out to strive for a peaceful and better world, a world where diplomatic solutions should be found before military ones. This matter should have been left to Yu, you're supposedly most favoured subject and yet you took control instead, not even mentioning a word to him. You must speak to him, calm him and sort this out, make sure this doesn't happen again because he's your most favoured ally today but could be your most feared enemy tomorrow." Ce knew that Tai's words held truth, he left the throne room, Tai following, and went to Yu's room to find him packing clothes into a small bag. Tai waited outside, Ce closed the door so there were no intrusions.

"Yu, I apologise, this is a matter that should have been left to you. Instead I took control but still, I should have asked for your counsel and yet I didn't. If you want to leave, I cannot stop you but please reconsider, you are my most trusted companion, my bond brother, soon to be brother in law, I need you."

"Can you remember the evening we won the battle of Niuzhu and there was the assassin in my room? You came in, saw and killed him? That was brotherhood. Protecting me without asking questions. During the battle, remember when you were surrounded by enemies and I came to rescue you, that was brotherhood, I didn't ask questions beforehand. What you did in there was not brotherhood, that was selfish, antagonistic and the first signs of tyranny, I didn't sign up for this. I need time to myself, I'm going East and I'm not sure when I will return, if I return at all." With that, Yu closed his bag and left the room. He didn't make eye contact with Ce or Tai.


	4. Chapter 3

_Sun Ce had now taken control of Yuzhang and preparations were being made to attack Danyang._

Sun Ce sat on a boulder overlooking a river, contemplating whether Zhou Yu would ever return. It had been months since their parting. Questions ran through his mind. This battle was an important battle, a battle Ce could have done with Yu by his side, guiding his troops from every angle. Instead this was left to Zhang Zhao. Zhao had done a good job until now but they had only encountered small battles, this battle would include the renowned Tiashi Chi, if there were to be any challenges in this battle it would be Chi.

Sun Quan, Ce's brother, appeared. "Brother, this tide ... " Quan announced.

"Yes, it's fast. Much like time itself." Ce replied.

"What is on your mind? You seem distant."

"This battle, without Yu I fear we will have overwhelming losses even if we win. That will set us back in our quest to unify the land. What should I do?"

"I cannot advise you, it is not my time to rule, you are doing a perfect job as it is. I'm sure Zhao will have come up with plans on how to win, I think it's that Tiashi Chi that's really playing on your mind. If it's really that much of a concern, fight him, one on one. You'll always have me and Zhou Tai not far away to support you. It's your destiny to take back Wu, for our father." Ce nodded at this. Quan offered Ce a hand to which he accepted and was pulled to his feet. They went back to camp, Zhao deployed the troops on Ce's orders and the battle was begun.

The battle was going according to plan, as soon as they had crossed the river they had taken the two bases. However, Ce knew Chi was close. Ce was fighting in the space in between the two bases, there weren't many enemies and most of his troops were defending the bases, he had to make sure enemies didn't try to flank the bases. A small break occurred so Ce turned to look at his ships to make sure supplies were still rolling into the bases. Zhou Yu was stood at the landing platform of where a new boat had just arrived with fresh troops, vitally important reinforcements that would inevitably help during and after the battle.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Yu exclaimed.

"I couldn't help starting without you, this should be a lot more interesting now that you're here."

"No problem, allow me to relieve you of some of this burden." Yu replied. Ce nodded and Yu ran to Ce's position. Chi appeared in the distance. "Go, fight him, I shall take over troop deployment from here." Zhou Yu left for one of the bases.

"Zhou Yu's come through for us." Ce muttered to himself, a group of troops were now running at Chi, he hacked away and defeated them within seconds.

Chi continued running until he was near enough to speak to Ce.

"Master Sun Ce, I request a battle with you."

"Tiashi Chi. Your strength surpasses my greatest expectations. I'm going to enjoy this. Come and face me."

"Very well, I will defeat you, bringing an end to this battle." The two men started running towards each other. One of Ce's tongas met with Chi's spear.

The battle was won, Danyang was now Ce's. His empire was shaping up and he finally had a decent base under his banner. Zhou Yu had finally rejoined him and Tiashi Chi had been defeated.

"Victory is ours, the land of my father is returned to us." Ce shouted to his soldiers and they cheered in joy. "But the true battle is only just beginning. We will fight and we will win!" Ce shouted. "Have faith and follow me." More cheers roared from his soldiers.

"Incredible, he has the people's ear." Sun Quan stated to Zhou Yu.

"Yes, this battle has given him confidence. His passion is now married with strength and charisma. This base will be a foothold for which his empire will grow. If that is not enough to move the people, then I suppose nothing will." Yu replied.

Tiashi Chi appeared, walking towards Sun Ce. He didn't falter as he got closer, even with troops staring upon him. Finally, he stopped in front of Ce. He bowed his head, a symbol of his wish to join Ce, Ce nodded. Chi smiled and Ce's troops cheered once more.

"The magnanimity of a true leader." Yu continued.

"May I ask, what persuaded you to change your mind?" Quan asked.

"Who said anything about me changing my mind? The whole point of me leaving was to find reinforcements. I wanted to give Ce a reason to realise why I'm important to his cause. He will start asking and taking my advice more from now on. This was all part of my plan."

"You are quite weird Zhou Yu, quite weird indeed. Remind me to put your in prison when I take Ce's position one day." The pair started laughing. Ce and Chi walked over to them and Chi shook both Quan's and Yu's hand.

"He's a tough fighter, isn't he?" Quan asked Chi.

"He's alright, I thought I'd go easy on him so I didn't embarrass him in front of his troops." They all laughed, Ce punched Chi's arm.

"It's certainly good to have you on our side."


	5. Chapter 4 End of the Story

**This is the final chapter (or at least if there are any new chapters, they will be prequels to this chapter), it may be naff as it probably lacks detail but I wasn't quite sure how to add detail without dragging it out. I hope you enjoy and please leave a review. Thanks**

_Sun Ce had now taken Huancheng, taking over all of Yuan Shu's 30,000 former troops. After continued effort, Sun Ce finally quelled all rebels in the area and was now in control of Wu, Wu was now finally unified. Cao Cao was now part of the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao's cousin, Cao Rens, daughter was married to Sun Ce's youngest brother Sun Kuang whilst Cao Cao's son Cao Zhang was married to Sun Ben's daughter in order to secure diplomatic relationships between these two fledgling empires._

"Attacking Xuchang is far too risky. We'd be leaving our own capital wide open for someone to do the same to us as we'd be doing to Cao Cao. We need to attack somewhere closer to home, somewhere like Jing." Zhou Yu pointed out.

"I agree, it will hold strategic significance in the years to come." Zhang Zhao clarified.

"I too believe this to be the case. An opportunity to defeat Cao Cao will present itself in due time, right now we need to keep our homeland secure." Zhou Tai inputted.

"We shall head for Jing then seen as everyone's in agreement." Sun Ce reiterated. He was displeased that this was the outcome, his ambition was to now set a reputation among the land that he was the undisputed leader of it. But he didn't want to lose Zhou Yu, to lose Zhou Yu would be to lose his empire. Zhou Yu however, had Ce precisely where he wanted him; in the palm of his hand.

After weeks of preparation, Ce's army had finally crossed the border into Jing and an initial battle had started. On a mid Springs day, with the sun out but with a cool breeze that allowed for hours of intense fighting, Ce was in the midst of the enemy lines, casually fighting the enemy as he did best. Zhou Yu and Sun Quan stood atop a near hill, overlooking Ce. After killing the remaining troops, Ce moved forward to the end of the small valley to which archers ambushed him. Yu and Quan remained still.

"Who are you?" Ce asked the leader of the ambush.

"Yan Baihu, you remember me, don't you?"

"I do." Ce didn't waste another moment, he started running towards Baihu. The archers released, doing their job as accurately as their training had encouraged. Several arrows impaled Ce from all angles. He fell to the ground. The ambush retreated and Ce saw Yu and Quan running towards him before falling unconscious.

Ce awoke to find Yu sat beside him.

"Did we win?" Ce asked.

"We won. You fought valiantly as always." Yu replied. Quan now entered the room.

"Zhao has requested that you drink this as soon as you awake brother, it will ease the pain." Quan walked over to Ce and helped him drink. Ce slowly fell back into unconsciousness.

When Ce finally re-awoke, he was still droopy. Quan and Yu were still sat beside him.

"What happened?" Ce asked.

"You were ambush - "

"I know but you were on that hillside, surely you saw the ambush waiting for me, why didn't you warn me or attempt to run after me? I saw you just waiting there."

"You need rest, you're being delusional."

"I remember precisely what happened. Now tell me before I call my bodyguards and have you arrested." Ce started to perch himself up, Yu looked over to Quan who decided to speak next.

"Ce, you're time is over. You've done what you set out to do, what we wanted you to do."

"What are you talking about?"

"When Yu saved you back in Niuzhu, it was because we wanted you to set up an empire. We planned for you to do this, we could have left you to die back then. We wanted you to believe you were creating this empire, leading it, shaping it when it was really us doing the work. Why do you think Yu left in a tantrum and returned with reinforcements? He went for reinforcements anyway, the tantrum was to get you to listen to him. We set up the ambush, that's why Yu suggested Jing, we knew you would listen to him. Now, it's my turn to be the head of this family and of this empire."

"But I'm not dead yet."

"Oh but you are, that potion Zhao gave you, contained far too much poison to be healthy. You'll be lucky to survive the night. We'll be sure to honour you for your deeds when you die. Tell dad I love him and we'll take China in the Sun families name." Ce tried lunging for Quan but it was no good, surging pain caused him to recoil. It was all over. Ce had been conned, not by his enemies but by his closest friends, family even.

_Ce died hours later. Quan inevitably took his position. He genuinely wanted to throw Yu in prison for his treachery but knew his unique skill as a strategist could be of further use. Yu regretted ever plotting against Ce, realising the tyranny Quan had displayed in order to take his brothers position. He couldn't deal with the emotional trauma he was currently experiencing. After producing an overwhelming victoriously calculated strategy to win the famous battle of Chi Bi, Yu disappeared from history. Some presume he hid out of guilt, others believe he killed himself. From the day Ce died, Zhou Tai remained silent, never giving advice through fear that it may lead to another friends death. Now he only spoke when spoken to. Ce also left Tai some money in his will as reward for his service, not knowing how short it would have been. Tai used this money to learn to read and write and later went on to record Ce's life story (which was destroyed by Quan many years later). He was also able to study politics, philosophy and ethics which enabled him to create international relationships for Wu. These relationships continued even when China was finally reunited. Zhang Zhou had no involvement in the poisoning of Sun Ce._


End file.
